On the go and no time to finish that story right now? Your News is the place for you to save content to read later from any device. Register with us and content you save will appear here so you can access them to read later.

Bishop said the villas had attracted interest from out of town, and registrations of interest had exceeded expectations.

Bayleys Rotorua branch manager Beth Millard said none of the lots had sold because there was a lot of reading to be done before people finalised a purchase. She said some interested buyers were going through the information packs with their solicitors.

The subdivision was officially blessed and put on the market this week. House and land packages in the subdivision would range from $697,000 to $758,500.

The 20,011sq m site had been empty since 1988 and was previously the site of a transit camp for families awaiting state housing before the Voyager Resort Hotel was put there between 1983 and when it was demolished in 1988.

It has had a few owners since, including a Japanese businessman who intended to build a hotel on the site before his plans were crushed by a market crash.